Soothing Rain
by Heather Mini
Summary: Pretty much Max is on watch and it starts to storm. Fang and Max talk a bit, but not much. Its pointless really, and I don't think it'd be classified as fluff either. T cause I'm paranoid, I guess. Dunno. :


I watched the lightning, the bright flashes lighting up the cave. Thunder rumbled gently in the distance, and I closed my eyes, listening to the music made by nature. The lightning and thunder continued to make its presence known as it came closer to our hideout for the night.

A bright flash of lightning lit up my face, and I could see the flash even though my eyes were closed. On habit, I checked around the cave, watching the flock.

Nudge and Angel were curled up on some little blanket one of them had managed to stuff in their bag from I don't know when. Nudge was curled on her side, one arm being used as a pillow and the other was gently placed over Angel, keeping her warm. Angel was lying on her stomach, her arms bunched up in front of her to cushion her head. The perfect sisters… Too bad we were on the run.

Iggy was sprawled across the cave floor, his pack being used as a pillow, though I don't know how soft that'd be. His face was peaceful, unlike when he was awake- Alert, on edge, and worried. His reddish blonde hair was getting longer, and it was desperately in need of a trim.

My eyes looked at Iggy's side, where Gazzy was on his side. It looked like he had been talking to Iggy before the two of them had finally passed out from exhaustion, one arm being used as a pillow and the other on the ground in front of him. His face was smudged with dirt, and his blond hair looked dusty.

Fang was sitting on the cave floor, his back against the cave wall and his knees were pulled toward his chest. His elbows were resting on his knees, and his head had fallen into his hands. With his long dark hair falling around his face, it was hard to tell he'd fallen asleep. That is, unless you knew him as well as I did and could see that his jaw was slack.

Lightning flashed in the cave again, lighting up every corner and catching my attention. As the thunder rolled louder than before, I stood up silently and walked to the mouth of the cave.

Big, fat drops of rain slowly fell from the sky, making soft thuds on the ground. I watched as the falling drops of water began to fall faster, almost as if someone was crying.

Without thinking, I stepped on the tiny ledge, standing under the open sky. I could feel each little drop as it hit me; slowly soaking my clothes and making them stick to my body. A soft sigh escaped my lips and I closed my eyes.

I stayed like that for a while. There was no telling how much time had gone by. My clothes were soaked and my hair was plastered to my face. And the rain was starting to pick up again.

Exhaling, I turned and looked back into the cave, doing a 360 before checking on the flock. Only, I didn't really get to see much of anything, except Fang's chest and shoulders. I immediately looked to his face.

His eyes were sparkling in amusement, and his arms were crossed. He stood just enough inside the cave so he wouldn't get soaked.

"Max, what're you doing?" He asked, smirking and looking down on me.

"What does it look like I'm doing Smart One?" I retorted, raising an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes before shrugging off his jacket and holding it out to me.

"You really shouldn't stand out in the rain. Even if we rarely get sick, you'd be the lucky one by standing in the rain waiting to get pneumonia." He said, still holding out his jacket. I just kind of looked at it before rolling my eyes. I took it and stepped past him, into the cave. He stepped back, letting me pass. "And when were you going to wake me for watch?" He added.

"Whenever I felt like waking you up." I knelt down, ruffling through my bag and pulling out a jacket of my own. Fang's was too big for me anyways, and it wouldn't help dry me off.

"Max, you really shouldn't take both watches. Or even half my watch. You'll get too tired while we're flying and we'll have to land soon." He said, turning away so I could put on my jacket. I peeked over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't looking before prying off my soaked t-shirt and shrugged on my jacket, zipping it up.

"Last time I checked, I'm the leader." I said, throwing his jacket at him and wringing out my soaked shirt. "And you know what else? Maximum Ride doesn't take orders from anyone. Not even you, Fang."

I walked past him again, throwing down the shirt and leaning against the cave wall. Slowly, I let my legs slide from under me, and pulled them closer as I sat on the ground.

Fang gave me a look before rolling his eyes and watching out the mouth of the cave. I took a deep breath and turned my back to him, folding my arms to cushion my head so I could sleep.

"Night Fang," I muttered, yawning.

"Goodnight Max." He answered, his voice just above the noise of the falling rain. I fell asleep, a smile dancing on my lips.


End file.
